Chicago to host America’s Cup World Series event June 11-12

CHICAGO (LOG NEWS SERVICE) — Although it lost its bid to host the 2017 America’s Cup to Bermuda, Chicago was awarded an America’s Cup World Series stop in June.

The World Series event, scheduled to take place on Lake Michigan June 11-12, is part of a series of qualifying events for the 2017 America’s Cup in Bermuda. The races on Lake Michigan will be the first time a freshwater venue has hosted America’s Cup-affiliated racing in the event’s 164-year history.

Chicago is one of five World Series events scheduled in 2016. Two of the events have already been held — the first in Muscat, Oman in February and the other on the Hudson River in New York in May.

After Chicago events are scheduled in Portsmouth, England July 23-24 and Toulon, France, Sept. 10-11. A proposed final event of the year in Japan in October or November remains unconfirmed.

So far this year, Emirates Team New Zealand, tops the overall standings in the series, followed by Oracle Team USA (the defender), Land Rover BAR (England), SoftBank Team Japan, Artemis Racing (Sweden) and Groupama Team France.

Oracle Team USA has close ties to Chicago. Larry Ellison, the team’s principal, grew up in Chicago. He studied at the University of Illinois and the University of Chicago before moving to California in 1966.